Morning Brew: December 12, 2007

Robert Pickton was sentenced late yesterday to life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 25 years. The sentence is the maximum possible for the man who was convicted of 6 charges of second-degree murder on Sunday. The families of the victims read victim impact statements, which help the judge decide how long a convict should serve. Earlier that day, Judge James Williams asked Pickton if he had anything to say. When Pickton, 58, moved to stand up, his defense lawyer intervened. He advised Pickton to keep quiet because he is still linked to the deaths of 20 other women.

Hundreds of holiday care packages for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are grounded in Montreal because of security concerns. The 1,700 packages contain everything from two-ply toilet paper to shampoo. According to military officials, the Canadian Forces can't transport parcels not addressed to specific soldiers and the parcels pose a security concern because they don't know the contents. Volunteer organizer Jean Bisson hopes the military will change its policy before the holidays; otherwise, the packages will be donated to a local charity.

Quebec has approved new regulations "California-level" standards to reduce pollution from new cars. The standards will come into effect between 2010 and 2016, announced Environment Minister Line Beauchamp this morning after emerging from a U.N. climate change meeting with her California counterpart. Manufacturers would have to ensure that their average car emissions do not exceed the California standard to cut emissions by 30 percent. Beauchamp predicted that the regulations would reduce greenhouse gases by nearly two megatonnes, contributing to Canada's Kyoto target of reducing emissions to 6 percent below 1990 levels.

News from the sidelines: The Canadiens lose their sixth straight game at home with their 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lighting yesterday. Maybe they'll have better luck in their game against the Flyers tomorrow in Philadelphia.